Now Reading: Only 9 women CEOs, 22 CFOs among top 500 firms
-
01
Only 9 women CEOs, 22 CFOs among top 500 firms
Data tabled in the Lok Sabha shows that India's top 500 listed companies have just nine women CEOs and 22 women chief financial officers. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, replying to a…
The Story in Brief
Data tabled in the Lok Sabha shows that India's top 500 listed companies have just nine women CEOs and 22 women chief financial officers. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, replying to a question from Trinamool MP Saayoni Ghosh, said the companies have 860 women directors or board members overall. That includes 25 managing directors and 67 whole-time directors. Women hold only 4.4% of CFO positions and 1.8% of CEO posts in the top 500 universe.
Across all active companies, 1.16 million women are directors, about 29% of the total 3.99 million directors. However, the government has not assessed barriers to women's progression and has no new policy interventions planned. Penalties for non-compliance with the one-woman-director rule totalled Rs 71.02 lakh in 50 adjudication orders over five years.
The Indian Opinion
Headlines about 'only nine women CEOs' invite the narrative that corporate India is hopelessly sexist. The picture is more mixed: nearly a third of all directors are women, a huge leap from a decade ago. The bottleneck is at the executive top, not the boardroom. The lazy script blames a 'boys' club' but ignores that no statutory requirement exists for women CEOs or CFOs, only for directors. The real test will come when the government next collects data on the pipeline: how many women are in senior vice-president roles? That number will settle whether the problem is entry or promotion.
Sources (2): rediff.com, cfo.economictimes.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
